Automatic catch for inclined railways



(No Model.)

J.. SCHULLBR.

AUTOMATIC CATCH PCR INCLINED RAILWAYS.

No. 375,203. l Patented Dec. 20,1887.

N. Pneus Plmwmwmpw. www. n4 c 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.;

JOSEF SCHUIiLER, OF ALLEGHENY CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC CATCH FOR INCLINED RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION formngpart of Letters Patent N o. 375,203l dated December 20, 1887.`

Application iiled September 2G, 1887. Serial No. 250,664. (No modeLl face of the hill and a track laid on a series of ties secured to this frame, the car being raised and lowered on the track by ropes passing over a hoisting-drum at the top of the hill.

In order to avoid Vaccidents through the breaking of the hoisting-rope, the usual practice with passenger-inclines and double freightinclines is to employ a second or safety rope, which is attached at one end to one car and then passed over a sheave at the top of the incline,and the other end of the rope is attached to the other car. This device, however, is not applicable to singletrack inclines-s`uch as are largely employed for the handling of coal, ore, Steand it has also been found that both ropes will sometimes break simultaneously, releasing t-he car at a time when it is sure to be de stroyed bythe momentum which it gains in its descent.

The object of my invention is to provide a safety catch or 'stop which can be applied to the inclines in which a safetyfrope is used, as well as those in which the latter cannot be employedas single-track inclines-and also to provide a catch or stop in which the shock caused by the sudden arrest of the motion of the c'ar will be taken upwithout affecting the latter and its contents, and thus avoiding its derailment. t

To these ends my invention consists of a dog or dogs pivoted to the body of the car and having an` eye or sleeve therein or attached thereto between the pivots and the hooks of the dogs, through which eye or `sleeve passes the hoisting-rope,- so that when the rope slackens or breaks the dog or dogs will drop and engage the ties of the track, and thus prevent the car from descending.

The invention also consists in interposing a spring between said dog or dogs and the body of the car and providing means for regulating the force of said spring, so that the dogs will be positively forced downward to engage the tie when the rope slackens; and the vinvention further consists in attaching said dogs to the body of the car or its supportingtruck by a yielding connection, so that the shock caused by the sudden arrest of the motion of the car will be taken .up by said connection 5 and the invention also consists in certain other improvements, all of which will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use' my invention, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a car having my invention applied thereto, a port-ion of the car-truck being broken away to show the dogs.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the dogs and their connection with the ear and hoisting-rope.

Fig. 3 is a detail View of the under side of the a, secured to the face of the hill in a suitable manner, on the outer surface of which frame is secured at intervals, by bolts or other suitable means, cross-ties b, and on these ties-are laid the rails c, on which the car travels.

The invention is illustrated in connection with a passenger-car; but it is equally applicable to other forms of cars, as the manner of applying it is substantially similar and will be understood by those skilled in the art.

To the under side of the car toward the forward end is secured a transverse beam, d, to which is attached the hoisting rope or ropes e, or the hoisting-rope and the safety-rope, and on each end of this beam is preferably secured at right angles thereto the cylinders f, in each end of which is placed a headed rod, g, that extends through an opening, cZ, in the beam, and has screwed or otherwise secured toA its other end abifurcated head, h.

InterposedVA IOO between the head g of this rod gand the inner spring, t', so that any pull which comes on the rod g will be transmitted through the spring to the cross-beams, and thus any sudden jars to the car-body are avoided.

Pivoted or hinged to the bifurcated head h of the rodg is the clamping dog or dogs j, which consist of bars extending out beyond the forward end of the car and having their outer ends bent to form a hook, so that when the dogs drop these hooks will engage the ties of the track, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. l.

The device in its preferable form has two clampingdogs, as shown in the drawings; but, if desired, more than two may be employed, or one with two hooks on its outer end.

For the purpose of securing a uniform action of the dogs and strengthening them, as well as.

to obtain a convenient means of attaching to the dogs an eye or sleeve through `which the hoistingrope passes, I unite the dogs by cross stays or bars lr, to the under side of which or between which are secured near the middle, by means of suitable straps or bolts, the eyes or sleeves l, these eyes or sleeves, when two ropes are employed, being the same `distance apart that the ropes themselves are. The hoisting rope or ropes are passed through these eyes after being secured to the cross-beam d, orother suitable part of the car-frame, and from theeyes or sleeves pass directly to the hoisting drums or pulleys. Then a hoistingope and a safety-rope are employed, one is passed through one eye and the other through the other, or where only one rope is employed but one eye is used.

Instead of securing separate eyes or sleeves to the cross-stays 7c, eyes or openings may be formed in the stays at suitable points for the ropes to pass through, the only object being that the position of the dogs j shall be controlled by the hoisting-rope, so that if the latter is taut they will be held up, as in Fig. 2; but if itis slack then they can drop and cngage the tie, as heretofore described.

To insure that the dogs will be positively forced down when the rope slakens, and that they will not be dependent on their weight only, I prefer to interpose a spring, m, between the under side of the car-body and the dogs, near the forward end of the latter, so that the normal position of the dogs will be down and they will; be kept raised by the rope against the resiliency of the spring. The vform of spring employed is not material; but I have shown a fiat spring, which is well adapted for the purpose. This spring m bears at its lower end against ashouldered head, n', of a threaded bolt, n, that passes through a suitable opening in the cross-stays k, by the raising or lowering of which bolt the amount of compression, and thus the force of the spring m can be conveniently regulated.

The operation of the device is as follows: The hoisting-rope or hoisting and safety rope being held taut when the incline is in running order, the dogs j are kept raised, so that they do not engage the ties of the track, as indicated in Fig. 1, and thus the operation of the incline is in no Way interfered with. The instant the ropes break, however, whatever may be the position of the car on the incline, the dogs being no longer held up by the rope and the spring m compressed, the latter immediately forces the dogs downward and they drop in front of the next tie on the track, and,either sticking into the edge of the latter or firmly grasping its under side, arrest the movement of the car. As the car has not had time to run far enough to secure any great amount of momentum, its sudden stoppage does not cause any great jar, and that is taken up by the springs z', interposed between thehead ofthe rod g and the beam d, as these springs would be compressed by the strain on the dogs, and the contents of the car not affected. This 'is a considerable advantage, as the sudden arresting of the car by a rigid clamping device would, on an incline, probably result in the throwing of the car off the track. The car is thus stopped by this device almost instantly after the breaking of the ropes, and heldin its position on the track until the break lcan be repaired. I

rIhe device in no way interferes with the use of a safety-rope when the latter is em! ployed, as it is simply supplemental thereto and intended to come into play on the breakage of the rope.

In the single-track inclines-such as are largely employed for ore and coal-and on those inclines where no safety-rope is employed, my device can be readily applied without much change in the existing structures, and as the device is simple in its construction it is necessarilyinexpensive to apply. The necessity of such a device is obvious, as, not mentioning the danger to the lives of persons in passenger inclines, the damages caused to an incline and the structures at its lower end when a car breaks loose are very great, and require, generally, considerable time to repair; hence it is better to apply means of checking the descent of the car the instant the rope breaks, which means shall work automatically.

Having now. described my invention, `what I claim is- 1. In an automatic stop or safety-catch for incline railways, the combination of a car, a hoisting or safetyrope attached thereto, and dogs having a yielding and pivotal connection with said car and held up by said rope, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In anautomatic catch for inclined railways, the combination of a car, a hoisting or safety rope for the same, and dogs j, pivoted to said car and having springs z' between their ends and the body of the car, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In an automatic stop or catch for incline railways, the'combination of the car, a dog or dogs pivoted thereto, a hoisting-rope attached to said car and holding said dogs in a raised position, with a spring interposed between said car and the dogs, and means for regulating the force of said spring, substantially as described.

4. In an automatic stop or catch for incline railways, the combination ofthe car, the dogs j, the rods g, to which said dogs are pivoted, the springs t', interposed between said. rod and the frame of the car, and the hoisti1ig-rope`se ro cured to the car-frame and passing through an eye formed in or attached to the dogs, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In an automatic stop or catch for :incline railways, the combination of the car, the dogs j,

:5 having a yielding pivotal connection with said car, crossstays bracing and holding said 'dogs together, and sleeves or eyes attached to said stay or stays, through which the hoistingrope passes, substantially as described.

6. In an automatic stop or catch for incline railways, the combination of the car and the hoisting-rope attached thereto, with dog or dogs pivoted to the car-frame and carrying eyes or sleeves through which the' hoistingrope passes, so that the dogs will be held up by said rope, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said JosEF SGHULLER, have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEF SCHULLER. 

